A trapezoid is a quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides. The formula for the area of a trapezoid is
Area = [tex]\frac{1}{2}[/tex] (base 1 + base 2) h
The bases of the trapezoid are the parallel sides. In the trapezoid shown, the bases are 10 cm and 22 cm and the height of the trapezoid is 8 cm. Now, we can plug these numbers into our formula.
[tex]\frac{1}{2}[/tex] (10 cm + 22 cm) (8 cm)
Next, the order of operations tells us that we must simplify inside the parentheses first. 10 cm + 22 cm = 32 cm.
Now, we have [tex]\frac{1}{2}[/tex] (32 cm) (8 cm).
[tex]\frac{1}{2}[/tex] × 32 cm = 16 cm.
(16 cm) × (8 cm) = 128 cm.²
Therefore, the area of the trapezoid shown is 128 cm.²
